Iran News Round Up

A selection of the latest news stories and editorials published in Iranian news outlets, compiled by Ali Alfoneh, Ahmad Majidyar and Michael Rubin.  To subscribe to this daily newsletter, please visit this page, fill out the "New Subscribers" section, and check "Iran News Round Up" listed under "Projects." 

(E) = Article in English

Politics

• Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei: "Tourism pleases God because it promotes peace."

Diplomacy

• Supreme Leader Khamenei receives the Lebanese Prime Minister: "As long as the usurping Zionist regime exists, Lebanon is in need of the resistance [Hezbollah]."

Military and Security

• Ahmadinejad: "The hands of Western governments and the Zionist regime were behind the unfortunate assassinations [of a nuclear scientist in Tehran]."
  • Jomhouri-ye Eslami editorializes: "Despite the fact that the martyrdom and wounding of these scientists and elite professors at universities, wounds the people of Iran, the blood of the wise men will most certainly lead to blooming of the scientists and scientific growth of the country, which neutralizes any conspiracy..."
  • Javan provides "documentation" for United States, British and Mossad involvement.
  • [E] Iranian Foreign Ministry blamed Israel and certain western countries for the assassination of Iranian university professors Fereidoon Abbasi Davani and Majid Shahriari in Tehran on Monday, while stressing that such criminal acts cannot hinder the country's progress.
• The Revolutionary Guards declares its readiness to protect university professors.
• Intelligence Minister Moslehi says the attempt to hijack a plane from Tehran to Damascus "may have been connected with foreign spy services."
• The Intelligence Ministry will soon prepare standardized security clearances for employment in the financial sector.
• Basij Deputy Ali Fazli, says the most important mission of the Basij is to "counter soft warfare."
• According to Donya-ye Eqtesad, the Revolutionary Guards-owned financial entity Toseeh-ye Eghtesad-e Mobin Investment Company has expressed its interest "not to own Iran Telecommunications shares for ever." However, Donya-ye Eqtesad's columnist does not believe it is at all possible to sell the company since Toseeh-ye Eghtesad-e Mobin has only paid $980 million to the state, even thought the company is worth $8 billion.
•  [E] Iran's Law Enforcement Police forces discovered large amounts of illicit drugs in the country's Southwestern province of Khuzestan during the last 30 days.

Nuclear Issue

• Ahmadinejad: "No negotiation has begun yet and the preliminary meetings were about the framework of the meetings and not substantial negotiations. In future negotiations Brazil, Turkey and some other countries will participate."
• [E] Ahmadinejad reiterated on Tuesday that the country will not negotiate over its inalienable and basic rights in the upcoming talks with the six world powers.
• [E] Saeed Jalili, Iran's top negotiator in the upcoming multifaceted talks, and the six world powers will restart negotiations on December 6 in Switzerland.

Economy

• During a speech in Mazandaran, Ahmadinejad promises to "double" the amount of the cash handout.
• Ahmadinejad discusses the Central Bank's independence: "As you know this bill [excluding the president from the board of the Central Bank] was sent to the investigations committee and will, God willing, be corrected. There are those who say this will bring independence to the Central Bank, but in the Islamic Republic there are three branches: Legislative, executive, the judiciary and the Supreme Leader. We do not have a fourth branch. Independence of the Central Bank means transfer of this institution to the private sector. Yes, in some countries whose regimes are the regimes of capitalists and everything is in their hands, the composition of the Board of Governors of their Central Bank is so that the capitalists rule it and secure interests of the capitalists... Our regime is not a capitalist regime, and not a regime of capitalists. We have an Islamic and popular regime in which the government is representative of the people and the president has the highest vote of the people. The entire population assembles and elects one individual. Which other representative higher than the president can represent the people?"
  • He adds: "According to the constitution, monetary and financial policies are planned by the government."
• Hossein Rahmani-Nia, Chamber of Cooperatives secretary, says economic actors are not interested in investing in the cooperative sector.

Trade

• According to Donye-ye Eqtesad, foreign companies are still in doubt about whether to participate in development of the 12th phase of the South Pars gas and oil field. Difficulties continue with the Indians, Venezuelans, and Angolans.

Photo of the Day

• Protest at Martyr Beheshti University against yesterday's murder of nuclear physicist.